Friday afternoon— busses are delayed due to snow, and you find yourself with 15 students for an hour longer than you expected. Or maybe your boss tells you to lead a 10 minute activity for all of the staff bright and early on a Monday morning.

Think quick…or better yet, just improv!

There are many instances in Outdoor Education that require a quick wit and a little confidence. Practicing Improv, the act of making something up in a structured and sometimes entertaining way, can sharpen these skills, as well as make you a better teammate, a better teacher and a funnier person.

Tina Fey, a comic genius and writer for Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock and Mean Girls, among others, discusses the rules for Improv in her book “Bossy Pants”. These rules, she explains, aren’t just for standing on stage in front of an audience – they extend to all of our actions in life, and I think that is especially true in Outdoor Education.

Rule one is Agree. “Always AGREE and SAY YES,” touts Fey. “Obviously in real life you’re not always going to agree with everything everyone says. But the Rule of Agreement reminds you to respect what your partner has created and to start from an open-minded place.”

An agreeing attitude is a powerful force in a group of peers that lives together and then works in an environment where we strive to leave students with lasting impressions.

Disagreement usually comes from a place of internal arrogance, where one person thinks their idea is more valuable or productive than another.

In our Adventure Course, we try to tease this notion out of our students, giving each one a chance to talk and pointing out who the leaders are and how it can be just as important to follow. As instructors, we can show them the beauty of cooperative thought by following the agreement rule.

In addition to agreeing, Fey encourages adding your own ideas. “To me, YES, AND means don’t be afraid to contribute. It’s your responsibility to contribute. Always make sure you’re adding something to the discussion. Your initiations are worthwhile.” If we only agreed with each other we wouldn’t be improving our program. If Chris tells us to move rocks and we just say yes, the rocks will get out of the way, but if we say “Yes, and we can use them to line the new Archery teaching range” then things will consistently be beautified in a way we can take ownership of.

The last rule is that THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, only opportunities. This is one of the most powerful mantras you can have. Whether you’re on stage at opening night campfire, or just leading your group on a new trail, Fey’s advice on improv can offer encouragement. “There are no mistakes, only beautiful happy accidents” As long as you get out there and try things, you will be amazed at what you discover. If you never hike your students to Horse Meadows, how will you know what a release it can be for them to frolic in the field for a few minutes, laughing and throwing clumps of hay and one another?

In honor of those “oh-no” moments, where you have some time to spare and not an idea of what to do – here are some of my favorite improvisational activities.

Yes, And:

Number on Stage: 2
Explanation: The audience chooses a Place and a Conflict, and the characters must act as if they are in that place working to solve the conflict. The trick to this activity is that each time a player speaks, they must start by agreeing with their partner, then contributing in the form of the phrase, “Yes, and”.
Debrief: Was it difficult to maintain a positive conformation with your partner? Did you struggle not to say “But” or “Actually…” How do these words affect an idea in real life? What are the benefits of being positive? Was it easier to add your contribution after you confirmed theirs, or was it more difficult?

Stand, Sit, Lie Down:

Number on Stage: 3
Explanation: Have audience give prompts of a Place, a Conflict, and an Object. Actors must use these prompts to tell a story, but one actor must be sitting, one must be standing, and one must be lying down at all times.
Debrief: This is a good physical exercise that gets your body moving as well as your mind. Was it a challenge to have to remember to move your body as well as explain the story? How is Improv an art form? Did you have to communicate with each other to make sure someone was always in the right place? Did you use verbal or non-verbal communication?

Translators:

Number on Stage: 4
Explanation: Choose two people to be aliens, with one translator each. The audience can pick what country or planet the aliens are from, as well as a Conflict that they are trying to solve. The aliens take turns speaking in their native tongue (which can’t be understood by the audience) and using gestures to carry on a discussion. The translators take turns after their alien speaks, to translate their noises and action into dialogue. After the translator translates for their alien, the other alien speaks, and then is translated, etc.
Debrief: Was the conflict resolved? Was the resolution driven by the aliens or their translators? What types of communication were they using? What did they do that was really good or how could they have improved their communication?

Mr. Know it All:

Number on stage: 3-10
Explanation: Everyone on stage stands shoulder to shoulder facing the audience. They will answer audience questions one word at a time, adding the correct punctuation when necessary. An alternative is to have the group answer questions simultaneously, forming the words together as multi-headed monster.
Debrief: This is a fun way to get silly, review class information, and practice grammar and syntax. Was it difficult to restrict your communication to one word? Do you think the group represented your ideas well? How did it feel to be so dependent on everyone else’s answers?

At High Trails Outdoor Science School, we literally force our instructors to write about elementary outdoor education, teaching outside, learning outside, our dirty classroom (the forest…gosh), environmental science, outdoor science, and all other tree hugging student and kid loving things that keep us engaged, passionate, driven, loving our job, digging our life, and spreading the word to anyone whose attention we can hold for long enough to actually make it through reading this entire sentence. Whew…. www.dirtyclassroom.com